Main event: Ryan Bader def. Antonio Rogerio NogueiraRyan Bader completely mauled Antonio Rogerio Nogueira for almost three rounds before “Lil Nog” couldn’t take anymore and the referee stepped in to save the legendary Brazilian, giving Bader the TKO finish at 3:51. Bader scored four takedowns and controlled Lil Nog on the canvas for 11:15 of the fight. Bader landed 138 total strikes and won the significant strike battle, 79-5. Bader recorded his 15th UFC win, which brings him to second in light heavyweight history behind only Jon Jones.
Ryan Bader:“ Nogueira is always tough. I am surprised at how tough he was. I learned to be patient, something I wasn´t during my first time in Brazil. I chose the right shots. It would be great to get a knockout, but I was facing a guy who knows what he is doing and you never know what can happen when you exchange shots standing up. I fought everybody in this division. I have been consistent. I think my time has come.”
Co-main: Thomas Almeida def. Albert MoralesThomas Almeida came out with a thunderous flurry of punches in the second round after almost finishing Albert Morales in the first and finished by TKO at 1:37 of the second round. Almeida landed 22 significant strikes in under two minutes and forced the referee to step in as he was bouncing his fists off the head of Morales. In the first round, Almeida rocked Morales, who immediately tried to wrestle. Morales found himself on Almeida’s back after a scramble, but the Brazilian was able to fight off the rear naked choke attempt to get back to the middle of the Octagon. Almeida improves to 22-1 and bounces back from his first lose last time out against No. 1 contender Cody Garbrandt.
Thomas Almeida:“I went in calm, did all the things I trained, did not expose myself so much and went back to the win column. Every fight is a fight, and I always want to win. I want to be champion. It was amazing to fight at home, with the fans screaming my name. It’s always an extra motivation to fight and win one victory after another.”
Claudia Gadelha def. Cortney CaseyClaudia Gadelha turned in a typical performance for the ultra-tough strawweight, landing six takedowns and controlling the fight against Courtney Casey to earn the unanimous decision win, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Gadelha landed an illegal kick while Casey was down in the fight. She apologized after the bout, saying she was trying to time a kick as Casey got back to her feet. Gadelha improves to 14-2 overall.
They said it:
Claudia Gadelha:“ I’m happy with the win, but I want more than that. About the kick, I was going to kick her body. I figured she would get up and the kick would hit her body. But she did not get up and the kick ended up catching the top of her head. If I had done anything wrong, the kick would have landed clean. I want to make it clear that it was an accident. Now I want to fight Carla Esparza.”
Krzysztof Jotko def. Thales LeitesKrzysztof Jotko blitzed Thales Leites and out-struck the Brazilian, 93-4 over the course of 15 minutes to cruise to a unanimous decision win, 29-27, 30-27, 30-27. Jotko has now won all five if his fights in the UFC and he improves to 19-1 overall. The No. 15-ranked middleweight will look to rise in the rankings with a win over No. 11 Leites.
They said it:
Krzysztof Jotko:“ I thought this fight would be different, that I would be defending his takedowns and it would be more of a standup fight. I fought one of the best jiu-jitsu guys out there and I won, so I am very excited. What´s next? I think I want to face another Brazilian, Vitor Belfort.”
Warlley Alves vs Kamaru UsmanIn an absolute slugfest, Kamaru Usman used his volume striking to earn a unanimous decision win against Warlley Alves, 29-27, 30-26, 29-28. Usman had Alves up against the fence for the majority of the fight because of his aggressive, pushing forward style on the feet. It was an interesting matchup because Usman is an elite wrestler and Alves is a master of the guillotine choke. Alves had a uillotine applied in the third round but he was too fatigued to finish the technique, as Usman was able to get out and land in top position. Usman tripled Alves in significant strikes, landing 98-32. Usman improves to 9-1 and an undefeated 4-0 in the UFC.
They said it:
Kamaru Usman:“ I am one of the best guys in this division. They just haven´t had the chance to see it because I´ve just dominated everybody and the guys were tough enough to hang on. That´s what Warlley Alves was today. He hung in there. I want Demian Maia next, grappler vs grappler. I am better. He´s been around for a long time, but it´s my turn now. So I want him, that´s who I want next.”
Sergio Moraes def. Zak OttowA dominant first round from Sergio Moraes set the tone for a split decision win against Zak Ottow (28-29, 30-27, 30-27). Moraes landed a takedown in the first and landed the majority of his 66 strikes from top position, where he controlled the fight for 3:18 of the five-minute round. Ottow came on strong in the third and ended up winning out in significant strikes, 44-35 in the fight. Moraes extends unbeaten streak to six straight fights with the win.
They said it:
Sergio Moraes:“ I lost the second round, but I won the other two. I don´t know what fight the referees saw, but that’s what happens when we leave it in their hands. I’ll train a lot more, and I will do it all over again. I’d really like to face a top-10 fighter. UFC, give me a chance to fight those guys.”
Zak Ottow:“ I have to watch it back. I thought it was a close fight, but I thought that I would have won. I was getting more cleaner shots and when he did take me down, he didn´t land much of anything.”
Action starts at 7 pm ET
Cezar Ferreira def. Jack HermanssonJack Hermansson turned up the aggression in the second round against Cezar Ferreira and started to push forward to try and keep “Mutante” off balance. But that ended up being bad news for Hermansson, who walked right into a power double leg takedown and ended up on his back. From half guard, Ferreira sunk in an arm triangle choke to get the finish in the second round at 2:11. The win gives Ferreira three in a row and the loss is the first in the UFC by Hermansson.
They said it:
Cezar Ferreira:“ It was one of the best performances I’ve ever had. A lot has happened in my life and in my career in the last few years, but I never revealed why because I did not want to use it as an excuse. It was difficult to regain confidence after a few defeats, but I did a great job with my coaches that made me a new fighter. I’m going to be champion, it’s a matter of time. Of course I’m not crazy to ask for a No. 1 or 2 in the ranking. I will win one at a time until I become the champion.”
Jack Hermansson:“ He was hard to read. When he got me to the ground I made some big mistakes. I went for a guillotine when I shouldn´t have. I know what I did wrong and will do better next time.”
Gadzhimurad Antigulov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima Gadzhimurad Antigulov didn’t waste any time getting the fight to the ground against Marcos Rogerio de Lima and when the fight went to the mat it was a clinic. Antigulov was able to sink in a guillotine choke and Rogerio de Lima was forced to tap almost immediately at just 1:07 into the first round. Antigulov improves to 19-4 and gets the win in his debut.
They said it:
Gadzhimurad Antigulov:“The fight started in a high pace and I took him down, exposed his neck and I choked him out.”
Marcos Rogerio de Lima:“I didn´t expect to be taken down. I did not feel his weight on the ground. I was relaxed and did not realize he had the choke and ended up not defending the way I should.”
Johnny Eduardo def. Manny GamburyanJohnny Eduardo dropped Manny Gamburyan with a pinpoint left jab and the veteran Gamburyan couldn’t recover in time as he was stopped by punches (TKO) at :46 of the second round. Gamburyan rocked Eduardo in the first with a couple huge overhand rights, but it ended up being his downfall as he aggressively pursued the big punch and he paid for it. Eduardo wins his third fight in the UFC. Gamuryan announced his retirement after the bout.
They said it:
Johnny Eduardo: “ I went a long time without fighting, and I started to think about retirement, but my coach ‘Dede’ Pederneiras always said that I had talent, that I had to continue. And the result was that, a proof that I can still be around. I have to thank Manny Gamburyan. He’s an incredible fighter. He faced a lot of tough people and already fought in several categories. It was a pleasure to fight him. I feel alive. I feel that I am part of the competition.”
Manny Gamburyan:“ I’ve been in this for a long time, tough times. I always thought about, this is my last one, this is my last one. After I moved to 135, it became tougher. There are a lot of great guys out there, and I feel that I can’t take them anymore. And if I can’t take them, I don’t want to compete anymore.”
Luis Henrique def. Christian ColomboLuiz Henrique def. Christian Columbo by submission at 2:12 of the third and final round after a brutal ground and pound assault that lasted the majority of the fight. Henrique landed 74 total strikes to just 29 for Columbo. The Brazilian landed six of eight takedown attempts and used them to batter his opponent before finishing by submission.
They said it:
Luiz Henrique: “I came to this fight looking for a submission. I trained a lot of neck positions, but the one I wanted I wasn´t able to do. But I will still show it in the UFC. I am not in a hurry. I got to the UFC very quickly and the opponent they give me, I face.”
Pedro Munhoz def. Justin ScogginsPedro Munoz got touched up a bit in the first round against Justin Scoggins, but he stayed focused and took advantage of Scoggins early in the second round when he fell to his back and was forced to scramble. Scoggins tried to go for a double leg takedown from his back and Munoz was able to sink in a deep guillotine choke, which forced Scoggins to tap out at 1:55 of the second round. Scoggins was making his bantamweight debut after going 4-2 as a flyweight in the UFC. Munoz picks up his third win in the UFC and has now won two in a row.
They said it:
Pedro Munoz: “ The win was sensational. They did not have many opponents who wanted to fight me here in Brazil, but he accepted, and he is No. 12 in the rankings, which makes this win even better. The UFC is my place, and I intend to stay here for a long time.”
Justin Scoggins:“ I made a mistake. Now it´s time to work on jiu-jitsu, submission defense and just come back stronger.”
Darren Stewart def. Francimar Barroso Darren Stewart caught Francimar Barroso with an unintentional head butt that rocked Barroso, who immediately winced in pain and grabbed his jaw. The referee didn’t see the contact and Stewart was able to capitalize with a takedown that led to the TKO stoppage at 1:34 of the first round. Stewart apologized for the head butt after the bout but was just doing his job and trying to finish the fight. Stewart improves to 8-0 and picks up the victory in his UFC debut.
They said it:
Darren Stewart: “He is a tough guy. He said I headbutted him. If I did, I didn’t mean to. Those who know me know I’ve never done that in my fights. But if I did headbutt him, he would have dropped immediately. But he carried on there and still looked for strikes. I just want to thank Brazil for having me.”
Francimar Barroso:“It was unfair. I have more than 40 fights in my career and never headbutted an opponent. Everybody saw he did it. At the time, I got a bit groggy and looked at the judge so that he could intervene. I find this really unfair. I am very outraged.”
